Elisa Borah, Ph.D.

Elisa V. Borah, MSW, Ph.D., is the director of the Institute for Military and Veteran Family Wellness at Dell Medical School and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a research associate professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work and holds a courtesy appointment within the Department of Health Social Work at Dell Med.

Borah conducts research to identify, implement and evaluate programming and supports for military members, veterans, spouses and their families. Her current research efforts include studying the impact of peer and social support for military and veteran spouses, self-care practices among military spouses and how best to support transition needs after military life for military spouses. In 2015, Borah developed the Veteran Spouse Network, funded by the Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute, to engage veteran spouses in defining programmatic and research needs to better support veteran families in Texas and throughout the country. Through the Veteran Spouse Network, Borah and her team design, implement and evaluate program supports for spouses and couples. Borah has designed and delivered trainings on military-informed care for health care providers in Texas to prepare them to deliver high quality care to veterans.

Her research includes studying the impact of peer support on the quality of life and mental health for veterans and veteran spouses, the implementation of evidence-based treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in military treatment settings and how to improve engagement of concerned significant others in veteran suicide prevention practices and research.

Borah chairs the biennial Military Social Work & Behavioral Health Conference at The University of Texas at Austin. She previously served as director of research at the Ft. Hood site of the STRONG STAR PTSD Research Consortium, a Department of Defense consortium, and as research assistant professor at UT Health San Antonio.